Anacostia | |
---|---|
Created by | Anthony Anderson |
Written by | Anthony Anderson |
Directed by | Anthony Anderson |
Starring |
|
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 6 |
No. of episodes | 60 |
Production | |
Executive producers |
|
Production company |
|
Original release | |
Network |
|
Release | October 15, 2009 – present |
Anacostia is a soap opera web series that premiered on October 15, 2009 on YouTube. It was created by Anthony A. Anderson (not to be confused with the actor of the same name), who also stars in, writes, produces, and directs the series. Anacostia chronicles the drama among residents of the titular community in Washington, D. C. Guest star Martha Byrne later became an executive producer on the series.
The series was nominated for a 2022 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor In A Short Form Comedy or Drama Series (Anthony Anderson). Anthony Anderson became the first actor in history to be nominated for both a Daytime and Primetime Emmy for the same role.
The series was also nominated for a 2015 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding New Approaches Drama Series, and Martha Byrne won a Daytime Emmy the same year for Outstanding Performer in a New Approaches Drama Series for her performance as Alexis Jordan. Elizabeth Hubbard was nominated in 2016 for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actress in a Digital Daytime Drama Series for her role as Eva Montgomery, and Anthony Anderson made history becoming the first African American to be nominated in 2017 for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Digital Daytime Drama Series for his role as Sean Williams-Grey. In 2017, actress Jennifer Bassey received the show's fifth nomination, in the Outstanding Guest Performer digital category. Anacostia has the most wins at the Indie Series Awards.
In 2018, Anacostia was picked up by Amazon Video for a multi year run on the streaming platform.
Season | # of Episodes | First Aired | Last Aired |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 10 | 2009 | 2010 |
2 | 10 | 2010 | 2011 |
3 | 10 | 2011 | 2012 |
4 | 10 | 2014 | 2015 |
5 | 10 | 2015 | 2017 |
6 | 10 | 2018 | 2021 |
No. In Series | No. In Season | Episode Title | Written By | Directed By | Viewers (in thousands) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | Covet Thy Neighbor | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.032 |
2 | 2 | Breaking The Surface | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.015 |
3 | 3 | Beware of The Fine Print | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.013 |
4 | 4 | Always Bet on Black (Part 1) | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.011 |
5 | 5 | Always Bet on Black (Part 2) | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.017 |
6 | 6 | L.O.V.E. | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.011 |
7 | 7 | Bad Girl | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.011 |
8 | 8 | You've Got The Look | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.009 |
9 | 9 | The End Is Coming | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.013 |
10 | 10 | Arrivals & Departures | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.012 |
No. In Series | No. In Season | Episode Title | Written By | Directed By | Viewers (in thousands) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
11 | 1 | Scar Tissue | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.012 |
12 | 2 | What Will I Tell My Heart? | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.010 |
13 | 3 | Hello Like Before | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.042 |
14 | 4 | The Wheels on The Bus | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.012 |
15 | 5 | Checks and Balances | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.011 |
16 | 6 | One For The Road | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.009 |
17 | 7 | A House Is Not a Home | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.010 |
18 | 8 | Business as Usual | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.008 |
19 | 9 | Sins of The Past | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.010 |
20 | 10 | And Justice For All | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.011 |
No. In Series | No. In Season | Episode Title | Written By | Directed By | Viewers (in thousands) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
21 | 1 | Where Do We Go From Here | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.013 |
22 | 2 | Only In My Dreams | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.034 |
23 | 3 | Sign Your Name | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.024 |
24 | 4 | Helping Hands | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.023 |
25 | 5 | The Bigger They Are | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.028 |
26 | 6 | Show and Tell | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.023 |
27 | 7 | The Gangs All Here | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.021 |
28 | 8 | The Power of Goodbye | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.038 |
29 | 9 | Break-up To Make-up | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.028 |
30 | 10 | Till Death Do Us Part | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.025 |
No. In Series | No. In Season | Episode Title | Written By | Directed By | Viewers (in thousands) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
31 | 1 | Don't Leave Me This Way | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.015 |
32 | 2 | Once Upon a Time | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.016 |
33 | 3 | Never Say Never | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.014 |
34 | 4 | What Happens In Vegas | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.010 |
35 | 5 | R.S.V.P | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.007 |
36 | 6 | Do Unto Others | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.007 |
37 | 7 | Choices | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.006 |
38 | 8 | What a Fool Believes | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.006 |
39 | 9 | When The Bough Breaks | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.007 |
40 | 10 | Proxy | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.008 |
No. In Series | No. In Season | Episode Title | Written By | Directed By | Viewers (in thousands) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
41 | 1 | You Again | Anthony Anderson & Martha Byrne | Anthony Anderson & Martha Byrne | 0.013 |
42 | 2 | Why Me (Part 1) | Anthony Anderson & Martha Byrne | Anthony Anderson & Martha Byrne | 0.010 |
43 | 3 | Why Me (Part 2) | Anthony Anderson & Martha Byrne | Anthony Anderson & Martha Byrne | 0.006 |
44 | 4 | I Can See You | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.007 |
45 | 5 | Road Kill | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.004 |
46 | 6 | Speak No Evil | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.003 |
47 | 7 | The Knock | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.003 |
48 | 8 | Call It By Its Name | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.002 |
49 | 9 | Lost and Found | Anthony Anderson & Martha Byrne | Anthony Anderson & Martha Byrne | 0.002 |
50 | 10 | Confessions | Anthony Anderson & Martha Byrne | Anthony Anderson & Martha Byrne | 0.004 |
No. In Series | No. In Season | Episode Title | Written By | Directed By | Viewers (in thousands) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
51 | 1 | Aftermath | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.010 |
52 | 2 | Like Father, Like Son | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.008 |
53 | 3 | 15 Minutes | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | 0.008 |
54 | 4 | One Wish | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | |
55 | 5 | Man In The Mirror | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | |
56 | 6 | The Life Of A Liar | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | |
57 | 7 | Let Me Love You | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | |
58 | 8 | Fourth Of July | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | |
59 | 9 | Secrets, Lies & Rollercoaster Rides | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson | |
60 | 10 | Stormy Weather | Anthony Anderson | Anthony Anderson |
Anacostia was created in 2009 by Anderson, who also writes, executive produces and stars in the series. Byrne serves as executive producer. Lora Lee, Jamie Misiak and Alexis Robinson Smith are among the series' line producers. Marion Akpan, Christopher Bair, Pasha Diallo, India Doy-Young, Antonio Harrison Jr., Kena Hodges, William Lash, Rolfini Whidbee, and Spencer Bruttig serve as producers. [1] [2] Previous producers include Fritz Brekeller, the seasons 1-5 supervising producer, Tommy Zamberlan, as the seasons 1-5 Senior Producer, and Benjamin Bryant as co-executive producer of seasons 1-5.
Byrne, known for her longtime role on the defunct CBS soap opera As the World Turns , joined the series in the role of high-powered madame Alexis Jordan in 2011. [3] In September 2015, Soap Opera Digest reported that Byrne's former As the World Turns co-star Elizabeth Hubbard would also appear on Anacostia as Eva Montgomery, in scenes directed and co-written by Byrne. [3] [4] [5]
In early 2021, after an 18 month production hiatus, Spencer Bruttig was added to the team as the show's Cinematographer and producer.
The show has been photographed using RED, Sony and Blackmagic cinema cameras.
Over the series' successive seasons, Anderson has attempted to address a number of social issues through the series soap operatic lens, including realistic takes on mental illness, incest, male-male rape, and the real-life gentrification of the iconic D.C. neighborhood. [5]
Anacostia was nominated for a 2022 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor In A Short Form Comedy or Drama Series (Anthony Anderson).
Anacostia was also nominated for a 2015 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding New Approaches Drama Series, [1] [2] and Martha Byrne won a Daytime Emmy the same year for Outstanding Performer in a New Approaches Drama Series for her performance as Alexis Jordan. [6] Elizabeth Hubbard was nominated in 2016 for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actress in a Digital Daytime Drama Series for her role as Eva Montgomery. [7] [8] In 2017, Anthony Anderson was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Digital Daytime Drama Series for his role as Sean Williams-Grey. [9] Jennifer Bassey was nominated in 2018 for Outstanding Guest Performer in a Digital Daytime Drama Series for her portrayal of Beverly Newman. [10]
To date, the series has won fourteen Indie Series Awards, [11] and has been nominated for several more. Anthony Anderson holds the record for most Acting Nominations (18) and is also the leader for overall Nominations (26) at the Indie Series Awards.
Year | Award | Category | Individual | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2010 | 1st Indie Soap Awards | Best Ensemble | Won | [11] | |
2011 | 2nd Indie Soap Awards | Outstanding Lead Actor | Anthony Anderson | Won | [11] |
Breakthrough Performance | Pasha Diallo | Won | [11] | ||
2012 | 3rd Indie Soap Awards | Best Guest Appearance (Drama) | Martha Byrne | Won | [11] |
Best Writing (Drama) | Anthony Anderson | Won | [11] | ||
2013 | 4th Indie Soap Awards | Best Supporting Actress (Drama) | Pasha Diallo | Won | [11] |
2015 | 42nd Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding New Approaches Drama Series | Nominated | [1] [2] | |
Outstanding Performer in a New Approaches Drama Series | Martha Byrne | Won | [6] | ||
6th Indie Series Awards | Best Ensemble (Drama) | Won | [11] [12] | ||
2016 | 43rd Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Digital Daytime Drama Series | Elizabeth Hubbard | Nominated | [7] [8] |
7th Indie Series Awards | Best Lead Actress (Drama) | Tamieka Chavis | Nominated | [13] | |
Best Supporting Actress (Drama) | Tia Dae | Nominated | [13] | ||
Best Guest Actress (Drama) | Elizabeth Hubbard | Nominated | [13] | ||
Best Ensemble (Drama) | Nominated | [13] | |||
2017 | |||||
44th Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Digital Daytime Drama Series | Anthony Anderson as Sean Williams-Grey | Nominated | [9] | |
8th Indie Series Awards | Best Lead Actor (Drama) | Anthony Anderson | Nominated | [14] | |
Best Supporting Actress (Drama) | Marion A. Akpan | Nominated | [14] | ||
Best Guest Actor (Drama) | Tremayne Norris | Won | [15] | ||
Best Guest Actress (Drama) | Elizabeth Hubbard | Nominated | [14] | ||
Best Ensemble (Drama) | Nominated | [14] | |||
Best Makeup | Lora Lee | Nominated | [14] | ||
2018 | 9th Indie Series Awards | Best Drama | Nominated | ||
Best Lead Actor (Drama) | Anthony Anderson | Nominated | |||
Best Supporting Actor (Drama) | Wil Lash | Won | [11] | ||
Best Guest Actress (Drama) | Dee Freeman | Nominated | |||
Best Guest Actress (Drama) | Jennifer Bassey | Nominated | |||
Best Guest Actress (Drama) | Judi Blair | Nominated | |||
Best Guest Actor (Drama) | Tremayne Norris | Nominated | |||
45th Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Guest Performer in a Digital Daytime Drama Series | Jennifer Bassey | Nominated | [10] | |
2019 | 10th Indie Series Awards | Best Guest Actress (Drama) | Lauren B. Martin | Won | [11] |
46th Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Digital Daytime Drama Series | Wil Lash | Nominated | ||
2022 | 74th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series | Anthony A. Anderson | Nominated |
In December 2010, Anderson was named by We Love Soaps as one of the 15 Most Fascinating People of 2010. [16]
In 2017, Gothamist Washington D.C. affiliate DCist named Anacostia "one of the best," in an article highlighting series set in the Washington D.C. area. [17]
Mary Beth Evans is an American television actress, known for her role as Kayla Brady on the NBC daytime soap Days of Our Lives, and her role as Sierra Estaban on the CBS daytime soap As the World Turns.
Jacob Wayne Young is an American actor and producer. He is a five-time Daytime Emmy Award nominee, winning once in 2002 for his role as Lucky Spencer in the soap opera General Hospital (2000–2003). He is best known for his roles as Rick Forrester in the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful and JR Chandler in the soap opera All My Children (2003–2011).
Crystal Elizabeth Chappell is an American actress who played Carly Manning on Days of Our Lives from 1990 to 1993, Maggie Carpenter on One Life to Live from 1995 to 1997 and Olivia Spencer on Guiding Light from 1999 to 2009.
Anthony Geary is a retired American actor. Geary is best known for playing the role of Luke Spencer on the ABC daytime drama General Hospital. He originated the role of Luke in 1978, and went on to earn a record eight Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series prior to his retirement.
The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), the Daytime Emmys are presented in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming. The first ceremony was held in 1974, expanding what was originally a prime time-themed Emmy Award. Ceremonies generally are held in May or June.
Sarah Joy Brown, sometimes credited simply as Sarah Brown, is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for originating the role of Carly Corinthos on the American daytime drama General Hospital from 1996 to 2001. For the role, she won three Daytime Emmy Awards. In 2008, she returned to General Hospital in a different role, Claudia Zacchara. She exited General Hospital once again in 2009 and began appearing on The Bold and the Beautiful in the newly created role of Aggie Jones.
Mary Martha Byrne is an American actress. She played the role of Lily Walsh Snyder on the soap opera As the World Turns from 1985 to 1989, then again from 1993 to 2008; as well as, from 2000 to 2003, Lily's twin sister, Rose D'Angelo. Byrne has also appeared in other stage, television and movie roles, including the title role in the 1983 film Anna to the Infinite Power. She is currently executive producer of the digital drama series Anacostia, where she has played the role of Alexis Jordan since 2011. Byrne has won three Daytime Emmy Awards for acting.
Elizabeth Hubbard was an American actress, recognized for her role as Althea Davis on the NBC daytime soap opera, The Doctors, for which she received the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1974, and as businesswoman Lucinda Walsh on the CBS soap opera, As the World Turns (1984–2010) for which she received eight Daytime Emmy Award nominations. Hubbard also starred in films such as I Never Sang for My Father (1970), The Bell Jar (1979), and Ordinary People (1980), and received another Emmy Award for playing former First Lady Edith Wilson in the television film First Ladies Diaries: Edith Wilson (1976).
Van Hansis is an American actor. Hansis portrayed the rich Luke Snyder on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns from December 14, 2005 until the show's final episode September 17, 2010. The son of long running characters on the series, Luke is known for a gay romantic storyline cited as one of the first in American daytime television.
Kathleen Gati is a US-based Canadian actress. She is known for portraying Liesl Obrecht on the ABC daytime soap opera General Hospital. She appeared on the television series Leverage in 2009.
Sonia Blangiardo is an American television soap opera director and producer. She is also the creator and director of the web series Tainted Dreams, which debuted on YouTube in December 2013.
Venice: The Series is a soap opera web series co-produced by and starring American actress Crystal Chappell. The series was inspired in part by the "Otalia" storyline on the daytime drama Guiding Light. The series has been streamed on VenicetheSeries.com since December 4, 2009, and ended with its sixth and final season in 2015.
Gregori J. Martin is a television producer, director, and the founder, CEO, and chairman of LANY Entertainment an independent bi-coastal entertainment company. Martin is best known for his digital drama series The Bay, for which he won the 2015 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding New Approaches Drama Series and the 2016, 2017, and 2018 Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Digital Daytime Drama Series. Martin is also known for the theatrically released independent vampire thriller Raven, a feature film produced by GruntWorks Entertainment where he originally served as a producer, director and as president for approximately four years. Martin is currently in development on a six-hour miniseries titled The Disciples that was sold to Sony Entertainment and serves as co-executive producer and head writer of the made-for-TV miniseries. Martin also serves as co-executive producer and director of the Daytime Emmy-nominated situation comedy This Just In for Associated Television International (ATI). Martin was awarded the 2011 Indie Series Award for Outstanding Directing for his work on The Bay and was again nominated in 2016, 2017, and 2018.
The 39th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), "recognizes outstanding achievement in all fields of daytime television production and are presented to individuals and programs broadcast from 2:00 a.m.—6:00 p.m. during the 2011 calendar year". The ceremony took place on June 23, 2012 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, in Beverly Hills, California beginning at 5:00 p.m. PST / 8:00 p.m. EST. The ceremony was televised in the United States by HLN and produced by LocoDistro and Executive Producer Gabriel Gornell.
DeVanity is a soap opera web series which ran from April 28, 2011 to March 20, 2014. It was created, written and executive produced by Michael Caruso.
Beacon Hill is a soap opera web series that premiered on March 5, 2014 at Beaconhilltheseries.com. Created by Linda Hill and Jessica Hill and executive produced by Crystal Chappell, season one stars Alicia Minshew and Sarah Brown as ex-lovers caught up in political and family drama in the affluent Boston neighborhood of Beacon Hill. Both roles were recast for season two with Nadia Bjorlin and Marem Hessler respectively.
The Bay is American crime-drama series. The show streams on Tubi/Popstar! TV in the United States, 10 Play in Australia, SABC in South Africa and Planet TV in Europe.
Tainted Dreams is a soap opera that premiered on YouTube on December 30, 2013 and later moved exclusively to Amazon and Amazon Prime. The series debuted on Popstar! TV and the Popstar! App on September 23, 2019. Created by Sonia Blangiardo, it is a "soap-within-a-soap" which follows the backstage drama of the fictional soap opera Painted Dreams.
Kristos Andrews is a British actor who is an 11-time Emmy winner. He has received a record 10 Emmy wins by the age of 30. Andrews received Emmy Awards in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2021 for his work as the lead actor on critically acclaimed crime-drama The Bay on Peacock. Andrews has won five more Emmys as an executive producer of the series in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2020, in addition to winning an Emmy for his work as a director.
The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Digital Daytime Drama Series was an award presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) and Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS).